The Konoha Festival Dance: A Royal Kiss
by katiesquilts
Summary: Everybody's here for the festival dance! What will happen when Yuri becomes the dance Queen, and has to KISS the dance King? Also, Gaara, shows an affectionate side, and Sasuke's an evil youknowwhat, as usual. KakaxOCxGaara !Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

Yuri is actually a character I created. Her name is Japanese for 'lily', like Sakura's name really means 'cherry', or 'cherry blossom'. I wanted this story to be a stand-alone, and it's been haunting me for quite a few days, so I decided to get it out. Basically, Yuri is from the Land of Waves (for some reason I kept calling it the Village Hidden in the Mist, but that would be entirely wrong). Anyway, Yuri is the granddaughter of a merchant from the Land of Waves, and is sent to train as a ninja in Konoha. It'd be easiest to say she was forced to go against her will, but she eventually warms up to the idea. After training in Konoha, she, literally, gets kidnapped again, this time by the Hokage's orders. I won't tell you what she does after that, but it'll certainly lead to some sort of love. Cause we all love fluff. Lots and lots of **FLUFF.**

Let the story begin!

**The Konoha Festival Ball: Chapter 1...**

Yuri looked at herself in Sakura's mirror. The two girls had grown considerably close, almost to the point of siblings. The young blonde shook her hair away from her shoulders, hoping it would fall naturally. When that didn't work, she tried pulling it up into a bun, and then twisted it. This time, when she let go, it curled and framed her face.

"You look lovely, and the way you hair looks really shows off your earrings!" Sakura loved to dote and dress up her friend, although it rarely ever happened. The two had totally different styles, but sometimes Yuri was able to let go of her sporty side and relax in the girly clothes that Sakura liked to pick out for her.

Yuri bit her lip and worried the soft, pink petals before turning to Sakura. "Are you sure it looks all right? I mean, it's not like I have a date or anything, but--"

Sakura just laughed. "Baka! You're calm and collected in any dangerous situation, but you're worried about _looking good_ for a silly festival dance!" Sakura managed to ease Yuri's worries, just a bit, but the blonde didn't want to ask her other question. Maybe later, as they were walking to the dance. "Besides," Sakura added, rummaging around in her closet, looking for the two dresses she and Yuri had picked out the week before to wear at the dance. "Nobody can say no to you, right? Even Gaara-kun can't help but admire you, that's got to be worth something in the beauty world, right? Aren't I right?"

Yuri giggled, taking her dress from Sakura's outstretched arm. Her friend had been so nice to her, giving her a room of her own, and helping her when she went shopping. When she thought about it, Yuri had to reason that Sakura had picked out her entire outfit for this evening, and would no doubt help her with her hair and makeup.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," Yuri said wistfully, staring at the baby blue dress in her hands. "You're the best."

Sakura noted the look on her friend's face. "What's the matter?" Pulling out her own dress from the closet, she dropped it on the pink bed and motioned for Yuri to sit down. "Are you nervous? This is your first real dance, right?"

Yuri nodded. Back in the Land of Waves, she had been too small to go to any of the real "dances" the adults held, but she had still been stuck in a room with a bunch of other kids, a stereo, and some refreshments. "I guess, I don't know. I feel nervous, but it's like my body won't let me admit it. I just kinda want to get it over with, I suppose."

"Oh, don't worry. You'll start to feel a lot better when we meet up with the guys. But, you better start getting ready, otherwise we'll be late." Sakura stood up and turned so Yuri was looking at her back, and she began to strip so she could get into her dress. Yuri also stripped and struggled into her problem of a dress. It was a halter-top, and it almost scared the poor girl to think that the only thing holding it up was a few pieces of material tied together. Making a mental note, she thought _I'll be sure to tie it in a hard knot, and check it several times during the dance._

"Oi, Yuri-chan, can you help me?" Sakura had gotten her dress zipped up past her lower back, until she reached that evil spot where you can't reach over or under your shoulder to get at the zipper. Yuri walked over and zipped the dress the rest of the way up; Sakura's dress was a bit plainer than Yuri's but she insisted it was all the better. Yuri's smiled to herself when she thought of Sakura's _real_ excuse for the plain dress. Ino and Sakura had had a fight at the dress shop, and Ino had thrown out the comment, "The fancier, the better!" Even though Sakura_ must_ have known it was a complete lie, she had insisted on being the complete opposite of Ino, and picked out the plainest dress she could find - a cute corral pink a shade lighter than her hair. Without hesitation, the pink-haired youth had handed Yuri a blue dress, and although the color was right, the style wasn't, and the two eventually decided on the baby blue halter.

Yuri tied the top of her dress, and then followed Sakura into the bathroom, where each was given a light layer of appropriate makeup, and they finished the final touches, like earrings, hair, shoes…whatever they thought looked cute. Yuri actually would have traded Sakura dresses, because she preferred plain, so she wore only a pair of small diamond earrings, and baby blue heels to make up for her lack in height. Sakura was plenty tall enough, but she insisted on wearing heels too, and picked out a pair of strappy pink shoes from the back of her closet.

Yuri looked at the clock and squeaked. They only had 10 minutes until they had to meet the guys! "Sakura-chan, come on! We have to hurry!" Sakura and Yuri hurried out the door, not bothering to lock it.

**At the Dance:**

The men were waiting for them at the entrance to the dance. Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Shino, Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, Choji, Kiba, and Neji were all wearing suits, each with a different colored tie. Beside them were the only three girls: Hinata, Temari, and Ino. Tenten was on a mission with a few of the Jounin.

Looking at the tiny group of girls compared to the great cluster of boys, Yuri was sure her heart skipped a beat. Yuri could hear Sakura's breathing next to her, and she managed to mutter, "Looks like we're the last ones here, huh?" Sakura could only nod, as the two had had to run all the way through the town to get to the dance on time.

Naruto had spotted the two girls and waved to them. "Hey! Sakura-chan! Yuri-chan! Over here! We're getting ready to go in! Come on, hurry UP!"

Yuri waved back to let the hyper-active ninja know they had heard. "He's right, we should go," she gasped to Sakura. "We can catch our breathe in there." She and Sakura composed themselves, then hurried to catch up to the other girls as the walked into the large building the dance was being held in.

**Inside the Dance:**

The decorations were nothing Yuri had ever seen before. Multi-colored light bulbs flashed at different intervals, and mirrors set up around the room multiplied the light, making 10 beams of light seem like 20. Little bits of confetti were sprinkled over the dance floor and tables that were arranged on the skirts of the dance floor for people to sit at and rest in-between songs.

Sakura clapped her hands together when she stepped into the room! "Oh, it's so cool! Look at all that confetti! Oh, and there's Kakashi-sensei!"

"Hm?" Yuri looked in the direction Sakura was pointing in, and sure enough, there was team 7's sensei, apparently manning the drink stand. When she looked closer, Yuri could see he had his copy of Itcha Itcha Paradise. _Tsk_ing under her breathe, Yuri looked around. Ino and Sakura were already out on the dance floor, moving to a vibrant, fast-paced song. Yuri spied Hinata watching the two from one of the long tables, so she went to go stand by her.

Hinata saw Yuri coming. "Oh, h-hello."

"Hello, Hinata-chan. Having fun?" Hinata blushed, was it something Yuri had asked? Yuri tried to follow Hinata's gaze, and it ended somewhere near Naruto.

"Oh! Hinata, you want to dance with Naruto, don't you?" Hinata blushed even more, and nodded her head in the tiniest of motions. Yuri chuckled, but she stopped when Hinata asked, "Ah, um, is there someone _you_ want to dance with, Yuri-chan?"

Yuri thought hard. She had spent a lot of time with most of the guys here, and she thought of them as her friends, and most likely nothing more. Although…she could see the wild red hair across the room, on the guys' side of the room (Note here: At most of my dances, the guys and girls choose sides, hence the guys' girls' sides. Basically, it's where they stand with their friends while not dancing, and they only switch sides if they are asking someone of the opposite sex to dance. End Note.) and thought instantly of, "How about Gaara-kun?"

Hinata nodded, the red fading slowly from her face. "He's nice, too." Yuri had to agree; with all the time she spend with him this and last year, training and traveling and whatnot, she had come to like and admire the tough, emotionless red-head.

Yuri was going through several flashbacks in her mind when Hinata broke in. "Ah…um, Yuri-chan! Look who's coming over here!" Yuri looked up and saw Gaara himself winding his way through the dancing ninja over to the two girls.

Gaara stopped in front of Yuri, and held out his hand awkwardly, as if he didn't know what he was doing. "Er, would you…like to dance?" he asked almost shyly. Hinata giggled in the seat next to Yuri, and Yuri took Gaara outstretched hand. "Ah! Uh, I guess."

Gaara led Yuri out to the dance floor just as a slow song was starting. They were awkward at first; they held each other an arm's length away, Gaara with his hands on Yuri's tiny hips and Yuri reaching her arms up to clasp then around the taller boy's neck. Yuri had to mentally congratulate herself – just when she had been talking about dancing with Gaara, the boy had come and asked her himself!

Gaara and Yuri mostly looked away from each other, but when one looked at the other's face, they would make eye-contact, smile, and then look away again. Yuri tried to make small-talk by saying, "Jeez, I'm so glad I wore heels, otherwise I'd be hanging by your neck, you're so much taller than me! Gaara smiled, and took one of his hands off of her hip to brush it along the top of her head. When he pulled it levelly towards himself, his hand was barely to his shoulders.

"Haha! You don't have to make fun of it, you know!" Gaara smiled again, placing his hand back on Yuri's small form.

"Well, there's really a lot to make fun of," he commented, a smile playing on his lips and in his eyes. _Well, isn't that something, Gaara's all smiles today! _Yuri thought.

Yuri and Gaara nodded to the two couples that came onto the floor next to them. Temari and Shikamaru and Ino and Kiba were on either side of the original couple. Before they could realize it Gaara and Yuri were being pushed closer and closer together. More and more couples were coming out to dance. Yuri was beginning to think, _Why is the DJ playing so many slow songs?_

Yuri began to look around. She noticed that she and Gaara, with the exception of Temari and Shikamaru, were the only ones who weren't holding each other as close as possible. And Yuri wasn't the only person to notice it, either. Temari, with her distance from Shikamaru, could easily see all of the dance floor, unless a couple was in her way, of course. But she had a view of Yuri and her little brother perfectly. She began to mutter into Shikamaru's ear, and they slowly made their way over to the awkward couple.

"Are you two okay?" Temari whispered to Yuri. Yuri nodded, and Gaara was looking right over Yuri's head, as though he hadn't heard. "Well then," Temari said, pulling one of her arms free from Shikamaru, "_get a little closer!_"

!Hehe, cliffhanger! What shall happen next? Be sure to read it in the next chap!


	2. Chapter 2

(Last time:)

Yuri began to look around. She noticed that she and Gaara, with the exception of Temari and Shikamaru, were the only ones who weren't holding each other as close as possible. And Yuri wasn't the only person to notice it, either. Temari, with her distance from Shikamaru, could easily see all of the dance floor, unless a couple was in her way, of course. But she had a view of Yuri and her little brother perfectly. She began to mutter into Shikamaru's ear, and they slowly made their way over to the awkward couple.

"Are you two okay?" Temari whispered to Yuri. Yuri nodded, and Gaara was looking right over Yuri's head, as though he hadn't heard. "Well then," Temari said, pulling one of her arms free from Shikamaru, "_get a little closer!_"

"Get a little clo--?" Yuri didn't have time to finish her sentence as Temari pushed Yuri into Gaara with a bit too much force. Enough force to send Gaara back a few steps, and Yuri's head had collided hardly with Gaara's chest.

Yuri was really embarrassed. REALLY embarrassed. Just great. SO great. Why'd Temari do that? _I'm gonna fuckin' KILL her next time I get a chance! _Yuri thought. When Inner Yuri (a second personality she'd somehow picked up from Sakura and _her_ Inner self) had finally calmed down, Yuri realized she and Gaara were still in their robotic dance; step to the right, step to the left. Step to the right, step to the left.

"Ah, um." Looking up, she realized she was practically hugging Gaara's neck. Relaxing her arms, she noticed that Temari's technique had seemed to work, now Gaara had his arms around Yuri's back, instead of just resting on her hips. _Geez, it'd be easier to just to take my arms from his neck and hold him as if I were giving him a normal hug. Well, a lot easier for me, anyway._ So Yuri undid her hands from Gaara's neck and lowered them to her own height. She snuck them under Gaara's arms, and pulled herself closer to his warm body, again, clasping them closed behind his back.

Gaara was giving Yuri an odd look, but she didn't realize it until she looked up at him. Giggling, she explained, "It's just a lot easier for me." He seemed to accept that answer, for he too pulled the smaller girl closer to him.

Yuri closed her eyes and rested her head on Gaara's chest. When she thought about it, they had been like this for several slow songs. What would happen when one of the faster songs started up again? She was getting sort of thirsty, so she might as well go and visit Kakashi-sensei once she and Gaara were separated.

It didn't take long for the next fast-paced song to come on (could she just control everything with her mind today?), and when it did, Gaara reluctantly let go of Yuri, and vise-versa. The two headed off in opposite directions without any extra words. Gaara went back to the boys' group (a.k.a., the guys he came in with) and Yuri went back to Hinata.

"Hinata-chan," Yuri asked. "Would you like to get a drink with me?" The blond girl fanned herself with her hand, amazed at how being stuck with so many bodies in one place could make you so hot.

Hinata was about to answer, but Shino slipped up behind her and whispered, "BOO," into the young girl's ear. Hinata jumped about a foot into the air, and turned to face the "attacker". Before Hinata could say anything, Shino asked, "Hinata-chan, I've noticed you've been staying fairly close to this table. Would you like to go dance with me?"

Yuri was awed. Did Shino actually know how to dance to the faster (and much EVILER, in Yuri's opinion) music? Hinata turned to Yuri, but the other girl waved her hand as if to dismiss them. "Nah, Hinata-chan, go have some fun! It's ok, I can get a drink by myself!" Hinata nodded and scuffled onto the dance floor with the ever-mysterious Shino.

Yuri walked over to the drink stand. Kakashi-sensei had his nose in that perverted book, so she had to get his attention by asking, "Can you even read that in this lack of light?"

Kakashi-sensei looked up and gave what Yuri supposed was a smile - it was hard to tell because of his mask and the lack of light. "Yup! Did you want something to drink?" He gestured towards the options, which were labeled in a list taped to the table and visible in their bottles beside Kakashi.

Yuri sighed, "You know, you should put down that perverted book and enjoy tonight. And yeah, punch would be fine, thanks."

Kakashi-sensei put down his book to pour his student a glass of punch, and Yuri picked up the book. Kakashi-sensei handed her the cup and she took it, but when he reached for the book, Yuri wouldn't hand it over. She looked at the page he had been reading. "What the hell? No guy would actually say that, you know? Geez, it looks like the only details are in the make-out scenes. Why DO you read this damn book anyway? It's not even well-written!"

Kakashi-sensei reached for the book again, and Yuri reluctantly handed it over. "You're not supposed to even be reading it, little girl," was his smug reply.

Yuri seethed, "My name's _not_ little girl. It's Yuri. Yuuuriii! Damnit! Get it right!"

Kakashi-sensei looked down at his newest student. Although she was the smallest, shortest, and the person you would think would be weakest, the blonde was right up between Naruto and Sasuke when it came to skill. Her intelligence even threatened Sakura's place. All-in-all, she was very well-rounded, and a lot of the other students looked to her for advice. The only bad thing Kakashi could see would be that she took everything to the extreme…including her foul mouth and anger issues.

And even though she was a great student, she could almost be called pesky when off-duty. Yuri was always hammering Kakashi to stop reading "that book", and to be on time, and all those other little things that Kakashi used to annoy his other trio of students. The only difference was, Yuri never let up.

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "You know, Yuri, I can't tell whether you're more of a motherly-figurine or an old hag the way you're always pestering me about everything." Yuri just smiled as she sipped her cold punch.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei," she asked suddenly, after a few sips of her cool drink, "why is it you aren't out dancing with everyone else?"

"I have to take care of the drink stand, and I'm not a very good dancer."

"Anybody can dance to a slow dance, and what if I could find someone to take over the stand for a song or two?"

"Yeah, sure, if you could find someone who'd actually dance with _me._"

"Already done!" When her sensei gave her a curious look, Yuri pointed her thumb at herself and said, "Me! I'd dance with you!"

Kakashi-sensei laughed. Amazingly, he shut his book and gave Yuri his full attention. "Sure, Yuri-chan. But there's just one problem. What about the _height difference?_"

Yuri pouted, being careful not to spill her punch. "Well, that didn't stop me from dancing with Gaara-kun, and he's taller than me too!"

Kakashi-sensei thought a moment before he shook his head, "Nah, there's _too much _of a height difference. It just wouldn't work."

Yuri pouted again. "Well, you'll never know unless you try!" she said, turning her back to him. Kakashi sighed, this was a technique he knew well. It was also a technique he couldn't stand up against.

"…Alright, fine. But on one condition." Yuri giggled and listened to her sensei's condition with wide eyes.

"Ah! But that's nearly impossible!" Kakashi-sensei just shook his head in the not-unless-you-do-it way, and Yuri headed off to find Sakura.

Amazingly, Sakura was taking a break along with Ino and Temari. "Ah, uh. Sakura-chan, can I ask you something?" Sakura looked up from the conversation she had been having with her friends.

"Sure! Ask away!" The pink-haired girl was obviously in a very good mood already. Yuri was a bit embarrassed to ask this, and even a bit scared to see what Sakura's reaction would be.

"Uh, well, I sorta made a deal with Kakashi-sensei, and, um, he gave me a condition." Yuri twiddled her thumbs a little, stalling and trying to break the news without Sakura blowing up immediately, so that she had a little bit of time to run away if she needed to.

Sakura's eyebrows rose, any deal with her sensei was most likely a bad one. "Alright. What was the condition?"

Sakura braced herself for the answer. She was ready for the worst. But when Yuri told her the condition, her answer was: "No way! No way I'd ever dance with Naruto-kun! Never!" Yuri's heart sank; it wasn't that she wanted to dance with Kakashi-sensei that badly, but the realization hit her that Sakura and Naruto could never be the best they could be as friends if Sakura would still refuse to do the smallest things. (Well, at least it was a blatant refusal, and not a death wish for even asking!)

Sakura was giving Yuri an odd look. Although, that wasn't very surprising. Yuri got an assortment of odd looks all day, every day. "Hey Yuri-chan," she asked nonchalantly. "What was the deal you made with Kakashi-sensei?"

Yuri laughed, an airy laugh with a hint of embarrassment. "Well, I asked him why he wasn't enjoying himself, and I even offered to find someone to take over the drink stand for a bit while he went out and danced, but he said I wouldn't be able to find anyone who'd actually dance with him. Then I said I'd dance with him, but he just laughed and said the height difference was too great…oh, wait, you didn't need to know that. But, anyway, he said he'd dance with me as long as I got you and Naruto-kun to dance first."

Sakura's eyes were wide open, and she broke into a cackle of laughter. "You…you'd actually dance with him?" she asked, clutching her side. Yuri nodded, wondering why it was such a big deal.

Ino and Temari had heard Yuri's explanation, and the were serious when they took turns saying, "You know, Sakura-chan, I haven't seen Naruto-kun out at all tonight, he seems a bit glum."

"Uh-huh. I noticed it too, and since all Kakashi-sensei has to do is read or serve people drinks, he probably noticed way before we did."

"He's probably just trying to cheer Naruto up…isn't this Naruto-kun's first dance too?"

Sakura thought for a moment, but Ino and Temari were very convincing, and the pink-haired girl finally agreed. "All right, next slow song I'll ask him to dance. But I'll only dance with him for ONE dance, understood?"

"Understood!" Yuri flashed smiles at the older girls over Sakura's head and made to leave the small group. She was about to go find Hinata again when Sakura piped up and asked her a quick question.

"Well, now I have to ask YOU a question, Yuri-chan." Yuri turned to look at her friend, wondering what type of question it was. "Alright…shoot."

"Why is it you want to dance with Kakashi-sensei so much?"


	3. Chapter 3

(Last time:)

"Well, now I have to ask YOU a question, Yuri-chan." Yuri turned to look at her friend, wondering what type of question it was. "Alright…shoot."

"Why is it you want to dance with Kakashi-sensei so much?"

Yuri turned a bright shade of pink, but luckily Hinata came to her rescue. "Ah…um," she started. "I think it's because…Yuri-chan is doing the same thing Kakashi-sensei is doing." All of the girls looked at the shy girl, and Yuri exclaimed "Hinata-chan!"

"Y-you see, Kakashi-sensei didn't want to see Naruto-kun lonely, and he knew that Naruto liked Sakura-chan. So, he wanted the two to dance together, to make Naruto-kun happy. And Yuri-chan," Hinata turned to the awed teen, "you knew Kakashi-sensei was probably bored and wanted to dance, so you yourself offered to dance with him. If you think about it, it's almost killing two birds with one stone. Making two people happy in one dance, ne?"

Yuri went over and hugged Hinata. "That's EXACTLY it. Thank you, Hinata-chan." Hinata blushed, but it quickly faded away. Ino and Temari chuckled as a slow song came on over the speakers.

"Sakura, your time has come, step into the spotlight!"

Sakura sighed and got up out of her seat. Wandering over to the boy's side, she sought out Naruto and asked him to dance. From across the room, the girls giggled as Naruto's mood brightened considerably. Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. Yuri herself wandered back over to the drink stand.

"Kakashi-sensei, I think you'll find your conditions have been met." The sensei looked up from his book at the shorter girl in front of him, then out to the dance floor. Sure enough, Sakura and Naruto were dancing, if not awkwardly, and the stunned man put down his book for the second time today.

"You're something'," he muttered under his breathe, wondering how the short blonde had convinced Sakura to go through with the act.

Yuri just beamed and twirling her shoulder-length hair around on a finger. "I'll come collect you on the next slow-song, ok?" she said, bouncing back over to her girl-friends.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. How _did_ she manage to pull that off? Well, how didn't matter; Naruto sure was looking' a helluva lot better thanks to Sakura's arms around his neck. The teacher sighed, even if Yuri was a pain sometimes, she sure could be persuasive. And she had a good heart too…The silver-haired man chuckled despite himself. Maybe she'd be the one to fix this mess of a team.

The slow dance ended, but Naruto and Sakura stayed out on the dance floor. Apparently, Sakura was trying to teach Naruto a few new dance moves, but he kept messing up and bumping into people. Sakura would just laugh, and show him the move again, so he could make another attempt. The girl seemed to have forgotten about her "one dance" rule.

Sakura and Naruto were soon joined by Hinata, Ino, Temari, Shikamaru (who stayed exceptionally close to Temari), and Shino, who was doing a sort of version of the robot. All of Yuri's girl-friends were out dancing, so she decided to cross over and visit a few of her _guy_-friends.

A few of the guys blinked at her when she walked up behind them. One or two raised their eyebrows. Getting the message, she raised her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to ask any of you to dance. I just got lonely, was all."

"Lonely?" Choji asked. "How do you get lonely when all of your friends are here?" Even Gaara had to nod in agreement to that, it was really so true.

Yuri reached down to put her hands in her pockets, and then realized she wasn't wearing any. Embarrassed, she laughed, trying to cover up her mistake and said, "Yeah, well, most of those friends are out on the dance floor dancing."

"What's the matter?" Kiba laughed. "Can't you dance?" Yuri prickled defensively, maybe coming over to talk with the guys was a bad idea after all.

"No, I…well…I'm not really sure. I mean, I'm pretty good at slow dancing…" Yuri twisted a few fingers in her dress and had the decency to blush when she realized that her dancing skills were truly terrible. Maybe she should take lessons?...

"Yeah!" Kiba laughed. "Gaara's already seen that good side of you, right buddy?" Kiba elbowed Gaara lightly and the sand ninja turned a shade of pink.

Rock Lee suddenly grabbed Yuri's small hand and pulled her out to the edge of the dance floor against her will. "Come on, just copy me!" He yelled over the loud music a speaker beside him was blasting. Lee did a wavy movement with his arms, and then kicked with his legs, being sure not to harm the person nearest him. "Now you try!"

Yuri immediately turned and walked back to the group of guys. "No way I'm gonna dance like _that_ retard," she mumbled, and Neji clapped her on the back. Something he wouldn't usually do. "Don't worry," he said. "Not everybody can dance. It's just like not being able to whistle, it doesn't really matter. It's surely not a life or death thing."

Yuri giggled a bit. "Yeah, it that were true, you and I would be dead by now!"

"Well…you can add my name to that list." Yuri turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Oh! Kakashi-sensei! So, you found someone to take over the drink stand, right?"

The sensei nodded, "Yeah, Ino said she'd handle it for one song. Anyway, you said you'd come collect me once the next slow song came on, but you don't seem to be very conscious of you surroundings."

Yuri blushed, in the last song she had almost forgotten about Kakashi-sensei. When he held out his gloved hand, she muttered, "Right," and took the hand. Kakashi's hand completely covered Yuri's and she suddenly seemed to fully realize the height difference between them. Kakashi and Yuri settled on an empty spot on the outskirts of the group, and assumed what was going to have to work as their dance poses.

Putting her arms on her sensei's shoulders was out of the question, he was just too tall. Snaking her arms under his like she had with Gaara, she twisted them and held them by their wrists behind her sensei's broad back. Then she let her forehead rest at the top of his stomach and the bottom of his chest, looking down at her shoes.

Kakashi had never danced with such a short person before. Much less one of his students! Luckily, Yuri knew what she was doing, because he could feel her arms move around him and clasp in his back, and a tiny spot in the middle of his chest let him know she was close enough to be breathing on him. He decided to do what she did, only in reverse. He put his arms on her shoulders, and instead of clasping his hands together, he crossed his hands at the base of her neck.

_Geez, this is nothing like what I thought it'd be! _Yuri was tense, this was her sensei, she couldn't get close like she could with Gaara, but they still had to _dance_. Yuri could feel her skin tingle as Kakashi's hands rested at the base of her neck. Good. He was respecting the distance too.

The song was only half over before Yuri and Kakashi started noticing the couples that were looking and giggling at them. Sakura waved from across the room, and Yuri had to suppose she was paired with Naruto. Even Hinata was out with Shino, and she gave Yuri the biggest smile Yuri had even seen on the girl's face.

"Ah…um, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hm? What is it, Yuri-san?"

"Um, are you enjoying the dance?"

Even though she was staring at his chest, Yuri could tell Kakashi was laughing. "Well, it's a bit awkward, but it'd be a lot better like this."

Yuri squealed as she was lifted into the air and placed on a chair. Now she was eye and eye with Kakashi-sensei, but she had also caused a lot of people to look at her. "Better?" Kakashi asked, smiling and ignoring the cheers his quick thinking had caused.

"I don't like being short," Yuri pouted, but all the same, she clasped her arms around the sensei's neck, and he around his student's lower back. Yuri had to admit, dancing on a chair was a bit scary, because of the height and the lack of place to put her feet, but she learned to sway using only her hips, and the two were able to dance somewhat in an easier fashion.

Oddly, the slow dance ended, and Kakashi-sensei went to relieve Ino of her duties as a make-shift drink-server. Yuri jumped off the chair, only to be pushed back and interrogated by several different girls, most of which she didn't even know. Questions like, "Was he a good dancer?" and "Do you think he'd dance with me?" rippled through the air. Luckily, Temari came to Yuri's rescue.

"All right! Stand aside! Yuri! Yuri, get your ass over here!" Yuri easily obliged, and for once thanked her short body, as she was able to slip and slide past the creepy girls to Temari, who was waiting for her on the other side of the crowd.

"You ok? You look a bit flushed," Temari commented, but Yuri just waved her off and headed back over to the guys. The girl had obviously inherited Gaara's dislike of attention, so it was he the blonde looked to for protection.

Walking up to the group of guys, she sat down on the floor in the space provided within the circle, making sure that she wouldn't flash anyone in her dress. "I'm hiding," she whispered, which got a few amused glances. Kiba laughed loudly, and Yuri winced at the sound.

"Geez, you're such a wimp. Hiding from a bunch of _girls_. Really! And now, you're asking us to _hide_ you?" Yuri threw the boy a dirty look, but that just caused more laughter to erupt from his mouth.

Yuri was about to say something an innocent girl like her really shouldn't say, but Gaara stopped her.

"Kiba. Where's Akamaru?" Kiba blinked, and realized that he hadn't seen the red-haired pup since they had walked through the doors. (By the way, Kiba didn't even _bring_ Akamaru to the dance, the red pup had his _own_ plans that night) Panicking, he rushed around the room, shouting "Akamaru! Akamaru, where the hell are ya?"

Yuri watched the boy search the building, and was faintly aware of Gaara pulling her to her feet.

"So," Rock Lee asked. "How's you're first dance, Yuri-chan?" Yuri looked at him blankly, and somehow ended up noticing how hurt he looked that she had walked away from him on the dance floor. That made her feel a bit guilty. Even though she had been so mean to him, he still was nice enough to try and chat with her! Wow, some immense guilt just smacked her in the face.

"Not what I thought it'd be," she muttered in reply, after a few moments of internal thinking.

Choji walked up from the snack bar, a small plate piled with chips, grapes, and chex mix balanced on his right hand. The boy's appearance brightened Yuri's mood, and she snuck up behind him. Resting her head on his left shoulder, she asked in a super sweet, little girl voice, "Hey Choji-kun, can Kitty-Cat-chan have a grape?"

Choji rolled his eyes; he knew as well as anyone else in the circle what would happen if he said no. Pulling a grape off of it's cluster, he held it over his should and the girl clinging to him accepted it gently with her teeth. Purring (literally, she didn't get the nickname "Kitty-Cat-chan" for nothing), the blonde gave Choji a gentle squeeze as thanks as she swallowed the sweet, green grape.

"Yuri-chan! I didn't know you had a thing for Choji!" Yuri turned to look at the number-one-knuckle-headed-ninja, and the silent Uchiha bastard next to him. Yuri and Choji blushed, and they both muttered something along the lines of, "It's not like that." Yuri slipped away, slowly distancing herself from the other blond. Maybe she needed to start rethinking her food collecting techniques…

Attempting to change the subject, Yuri asked the other blonde, "How was your dance with Sakura-chan?"

Naruto grinned, the corners of his mouth almost reaching his ears. "It was great! Thanks to you…" Yuri grinned back, it _was_ because of her (and sort of Kakashi) and she was glad he was thanking her.

Turning to Sasuke, she asked, "How's the party been for you? I hardly noticed you when we were walking in, and you just up and disappeared."

Sasuke couldn't tell her he'd been watching her the entire time. "I was up with Tsunade-sama near the DJ's stand. We were picking out the songs to play."

Yuri laughed. "Hey, who was the idiot who play 6 slow songs in a row in the beginning of the dance?"

Sasuke frowned. "I'm pretty sure it was that pervert, Jiraiya-sama. He insisted it was a perfect time to 'do some research'."

Naruto yelled, "Hey! Why didn't ya tell me Perverted-Hermit was here?" Naruto rushed over to the DJ's stand instantly, leaving Sasuke and Yuri alone, or as close to alone as possible with so many people dancing around them.

Unfortunately for Yuri, the next song was…you guessed it…a slow one. _It's like they're toying with me up there_ she thought, looking towards the DJ. She had to turn her attention to Sasuke when he held out his hand, obviously asking to dance.

Yuri took the hand, and tried to suppress the shaking in her arm as her skin made contact with his. For some reason, Yuri had never liked Sasuke; they had stayed far away, and she wanted it to stay that way. _Ah well, one dance surely can't hurt_.

Sasuke. Another tall guy. Yuri was really wishing she could instantly sprout three or four inches, at least then she'd be up to his chin. Yuri thought it'd be like every other dance she'd had, it'd start out awkwardly, but then they'd slowly draw closer…but she was wrong.

Right from the start, Sasuke put one of his arms around Yuri's hips, pulling her closer, until she had her face stuffed into his face. Looking up, she saw he was smiling at her, like he was trying to embarrass her. Yuri placed her hands on his shoulders, and tucked her elbows in to her sides. Sasuke's other arm pulled at her shoulders, pushing the shorter and younger girl closer and closer, until Yuri's front was intertwined with Sasuke's.

Yuri was close to panicking. She had never been this close to the Uchiha before, and it was _because of him_. Damn bastard. Everybody seemed to be pulling her strings today!

They danced like that, with little distance between them, for about half a song. Yuri could see it when someone tapped Sasuke's shoulder. She could feel it as his long arms released her, and she looked to see who had interrupted the dance.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked, a bit dazed. The blonde ninja grinned at her and held out his hand for a dance. Questions ran through Yuri's brain, but she took the hand and pulled close to Naruto, glad to get away from Sasuke's scary embrace.

"Hey, hey," Naruto whispered into her ear. "Sasuke-kun looks pissed that I took him away from you, ne?" Yuri looked in the direction Naruto had come from, and sure enough, Sasuke was scowling at her while he leaned against one of the building's walls.

Yuri snuggled closer into Naruto's chest and remembered the only other time she had been this close to _him_. It was really amazing how she always managed to run into a guy whenever she started crying.

Naruto was shocked, Yuri was actually getting _closer_ to him. When he had walked over to the group of male ninja, they had been laughing and noting how Yuri was trying to put _distance_ between her and Sasuke. _Guess it just depends on the guy_, he thought smugly.

"Hey Yuri-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Why were you dancing with Kakashi-sensei?"

Yuri hesitated. She had been trying to avoid the subject ever since slipping away from the group of Kakashi fangirls (Who knew he had so many?). Trying to sway to the beat, she laughed nervously and said, "Well, he looked kinda bored, so I offered to dance with him. You know, get him away from that perverted book he always reads all the time."

Naruto smiled. "I wish Jiraiya-sama could hear you say that." Naruto looked down into the blonde hair of his dancing partner. Not thinking, he leaning down and kissed the top of her head. "You know, you're really nice. Setting up that dance with Sakura-chan for me, dancing with Kakashi-sensei to help him enjoy the dance more…dancing with me…"

Yuri could feel his kiss tingle down her body to her toes. "Baka," she muttered. "This is a dance. You're _supposed_ to dance with your friends. Besides," she added jokingly. "_You're_ the kind one, for saving me from Sasuke-kun's killer grip!"

Cries of disappointment arose when the music stopped, and Tsunade-sama stood on one of the chairs, a microphone in her hand. "Alright everyone, the time as come to choose this dance's King and Queen!" Gasps and muttering filled the room, and Tsunade waited for the noises to die down before saying, "It'll work this way: there'll be two different booths. Each will have a slip of paper for you to write a name on. One booth will be taking Queen names, the other King. Now, if you could please file into single-filed lines, it would be very helpful. You don't exactly have to vote now, but the booths will only be open for 5 songs…that's about 25 minutes, for those who can't figure out anything bigger than 2 plus 2. We still have to count the names and award the trophies after this, so enjoy it while you can!"

Yuri looked at Naruto. "Who are you voting for?" she asked. Naruto ignored her and went to get in line for the Queen category. Yuri sighed…who would _she_ vote for? Maybe for Queen…Sakura? She was a really good dancer, and plus she had been a good sport when it came to dancing with Naruto…then again, Hinata had been a really blossom this night…she had shown a side she probably wouldn't show for a long time. Well, what about King? Grimacing, Yuri immediately crossed off Sasuke from her list.

Yuri twirled her hair and headed over to the guys. None of them had made a move to go to the voting booths. "What's the matter?" she asked, not really caring for an answer. "Aren't you going to vote?"

Shikamaru answered for all of them. "We're going to wait until the lines go down. Like Tsunade-sama said, we have a good 20 minutes left."

"Well, do you know who you're going to vote for?" she asked, again, not caring for an answer. Not caring who it was, she wrapped her arms around the nearest body and leaned heavily on them.

The body she had chosen just happened to be Neji, and he blushed when she leaned most of her (light, since she's so small) weight on him. He didn't dare push her away though, it would hurt her feelings, and that's when she could turn dangerous. They _all_ knew that from experience.

"Of course we know who we're voting for. And it was most obvious when it came to the Queen category," Kiba laughed. (At some point, he realized Akamaru was still at home, and went back to stand near his friends, a bit annoyed that Gaara had tricked him so easily, but not stupid enough to bring it up with the red-head and get himself killed.)

Tired, Yuri asked, "Oh, and who's that?" She buried her face into the shoulder of Neji's dark blue tux, and he turned a darker shade of red.

A moment of silence came from the group, causing Yuri to look up from "her" shoulder. All of the members of the group were looking at her with grins on their faces. Without hesitation, they all shouted, "YOU!"


	4. Chapter 4

(Last time:)

"Of course we know who we're voting for. And it was most obvious when it came to the Queen category," Kiba laughed.

Tired, Yuri asked, "Oh, and who's that?" She buried her face into the shoulder of Neji's dark blue tux, and he turned a darker shade of red.

A moment of silence came from the group, causing Yuri to look up from "her" shoulder. All of the members of the group were looking at her with grins on their faces. Without hesitation, they all shouted, "YOU!"

Yuri squeaked. "M…me? Ah, um, are you…sure?" Her death grip on Neji tightened, and the poor guy tapped on one of her hands to make her let go.

"The question," Kiba continued, "is who _you_ are going to vote for." Yuri released Neji and wavered on her feet for a bit, before walking over to Gaara and leaning on him.

"I dunno," she said, putting her arms around her replacement sensei. Gaara seemed unfazed by the younger girl's actions, so she leaned even more on him to make him frown.

Kiba tried to keep down a laugh. "Well, does that mean you're going to vote for Gaara-kun? What about a Queen?"

Yuri stood on her tiptoes so she could rest her chin on Gaara's shoulder. "Like I said, I dunno. Sakura-chan maybe? She looked really good when she was dancing with all those other guys. Or, oh, I have no clue. You guys can decide for me, or maybe I just won't vote."

"It doesn't matter, we all know who the King and Queen are going to be," Gaara said, tugging at Yuri's arms to get them away from his stomach.

"Oh?" Kiba asked. "Did you see into the future or something, Gaara? So, suddenly, you now know what the outcome is going to be?"

Yuri looked excited. "Gaara-chan! Who's it gunna be? Come on! Tell me! Tell me!" Despite Gaara's attempts at escape, Yuri just held on tighter. A few of the guys winced – then they remember that it was Yuri, and she was immune to most anything in their little group of friends.

Gaara sighed and stared at Yuri, finally breaking into a chuckle coupled with a smile. (Several of the guys had heart attacks here.) He put a hand on her head and said, "You're too cute, Yuri-chan. But you're also way too naive." Yuri looked up into Gaara's eyes. They were filled with that big-brotherly kindness she had seen in her own big brother's eyes.

Stepping away from the red-head, she crossed her arms in a half-hearted pout and commented, "I don't know what you just said, but I'm gunna take it as a bad thing." Mumbling, she added, "Plus, you didn't tell me who the King and Queen are going to be."

"Ah, there you are Yuri-chan! Come on, the girls are going to get a drink. Come! With! Us!" Sakura tugged at Yuri's arms and managed to haul her over to the girls' side of the building, not giving the poor girl any time to protest her abduction.

Kiba turned to Gaara after watching the kidnap and asked, "Oi, whad'ya mean by 'you're too naive'? What's up your sleeve, Gaara?"

Gaara still had his eyes on Yuri, and he watched as she was dragged over to Ino, Hinata, and his bigger sister. "Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? When you think about it, Kakashi and Yuri-chan got the biggest, well, what would you call it? Approval-rating maybe? Anyway, you saw how she had to _escape _from those damn fan girls. It was almost like the main event of the evening, except for that the main event is really to come."

Silence. "You always could see the truth in things. And when you put it that way….I suppose you're right."

Gaara turned to grin at the group. "Is there really ever a moment I'm _not_ right?"

Yuri didn't want to go to the drink stand. Kakashi-sensei was at the drink stand, probably along with several other of his new-found fangirls. But, it wasn't like she had a choice. And besides, she _had_ been the one that wanted to dance with Kakashi-sensei, even though she hadn't known about the repercussions at that time.

"Come on, Yuri-chan! We're getting something to drink, you HAVE to come!"

"But I'm not thirsty!"

Temari gave the little blonde girl a whack on the head. "What the fuck ever, you just don't want to have to talk with Kakashi-sensei. Aren't I right?"

Yuri blushed, but there was no way she could deny it when her friend put it so openly. "Alright," she sighed, crossing her arms in reluctance. " I suppose I could accompany you there, but don't expect me to drink anything. I already had a drink tonight. I'm not thirsty."

The last sentence earned her another whack on the head. "Like I said, what the fuck ever. One more drink can't hurt, can it? Not unless you got a tiny bladder, right?"

Yuri was really getting pissed. Beneath her cute expression (which was now one of pain, because those whacks hurt!), the girl was screaming in the head to show Temari what fists are for, but it was earlier stated that Yuri didn't like to cause a commotion (a.k.a., doesn't like crowds or too many people looking at her), and a fist fight would certainly count as a commotion.

"Right, Temari-chan, you're right. I guess I could just get a drink to sip on." Temari grinned her I-knew-you'd-say-that grin, and took the younger girl by the arm and continued to drag her across the room.

Yuri sighed in her head. Now she was convinced…somebody was 'up there' pulling strings to torture her.

When the girls arrived at the drink stand, Kakashi-sensei greeted them with, "Hello girls. Having a good night? Would you like something to drink?" Temari nodded and asked for two punches, one for her and one for the ever-reluctant Yuri.

Glancing around the stand, Yuri noticed her sensei had completely abandoned the thought of reading Itcha Itcha Paradise. Smirking, she looked back out to the dance floor. She thought, _Next time I get my hands on that book, I'll burn it._

Temari handed Yuri a cup, and the two girls stood to the side of the stand so Temari and Kakashi could converse, while Kakashi served the other girls and boys in the line. Yuri tried her best to stay out of the conversation, but sometimes she would be sucked in, and had to struggle to escape.

At some point, Yuri watched as the group of boys got in line to vote for Queen and King. She wanted to know whether they were really going to vote for her…and if they did mean to, why. Maybe they knew she didn't like to many people watching her, and if she became Queen, she would have the attention of the entire building. _That would probably kill me, to have so many people looking at me!_

"Right, Yuri?" Temari elbowed the girl standing next to her, and frowned when she realized the other hadn't been listening.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Could you please say that again?" Yuri wasn't sorry at all, Inner Yuri growled every time Temari would distract her from watching other people dancing, but she had to be patient. Anxiety weighed the little girl down, but she had to look and appear fine. It was against Yuri's personality to be dark and gloomy!

"I _said_," Temari repeated, probably getting as frustrated as Inner Yuri was, "you danced with Naruto and Sasuke right?"

Yuri stiffened. She knew her sensei was most likely listening, even though he was paying attention to the drinks he was pouring. "Yeah? So?"

"Who did you like dancing with better? I mean, who seemed like the better dancer to you?"

Now Yuri got it. Kakashi-sensei and Temari had probably known she wasn't paying attention, and they had most likely made a bet or something. Something _not good_.

Yuri made her voice as cold as her cute, innocent girl personality would allow. "Sasuke was smothering me so much I thought I was going to run out of air, but Naruto was ok."

"So, you liked Naruto more?"

"I guess. I mean, I think it's just that I get nervous when I get close to people, and Sasuke and I were never very good friends, so when he got that close to me, I guess…I kinda panicked." Yuri paused for a breathe of air, and then she continued. "But on the other hand, Naruto and I are…better friends, I suppose. I'm comfortable around him, I guess. Oh, I don't know! Why are you even asking me?" she ended crossly.

"No reason," Temari giggled. "But, out of all the dances you've had today, what person did you like dancing with the most?"

Yuri didn't answer that question. Temari was not the person to give the answer to. If she had said it? Aw, what the hell? Why not, even if she did get a few bruises…

Yuri pretended to put on a thoughtful face, and answered, "Your brother," she stated simply, and then walked away, throwing her empty cup into the garbage can. She headed over to the voting booths, and got into the Queen line. There were only two other people still voting, and when she got to the person and slip of paper, she hurriedly scribbled down a name and stepped over to the King's side. She took more time to write this name, putting several curves and bold strokes into it. When she handed the paper to the man behind the desk, she stretched and looked around the room.

Several people were standing around and talking, instead of dancing. The music had died down, and Yuri scanned the crowds to find her pink-haired friend. Her target was easily found, and Yuri made her way over.

Sakura waved and smiled when she saw Yuri coming. "Yuri-chan! Did you just vote? Who'd you vote for?"

Yuri smiled and said, "Guess. I'll give you a hint, she's my best friend."

Sakura didn't get the joke at first, but when she did, her eyes opened wide and she wrapped Yuri in a huge hug. "Guess what? I voted for my best friend too! Oh, and Ino and Hinata voted for you too, they told me earlier."

Yuri felt a sick lump in her stomach. "Did you really?" she asked, feigning surprise. "Oi, Sakura-chan, did the guys tell you who they voted for?" _Those bastards…_

Sakura frowned, "No, they just laughed and said I'd know soon. I wish I knew too. Hey, look!" Sakura was looking at the drink stand. "Temari's waving at us, let's go over there!" Sakura tried to drag Yuri like Temari had, but Yuri put all of her body weight into her feet, and refused to take one step.

"That's ok, I'm going to go talk to Tsunade-sama. I think I'm going to request a song," Yuri lied, twisting her wrist out of Sakura's grasp and stalked in the direction of the DJ.

Yuri walked around one of the huge speakers to find Jiraiya sitting on a chair, Tsunade in his lap. "Eh, Tsunade-sama," she asked. "Can I request a song?" Tsunade looked up from tickling Jiraiya's chin, and Yuri could see the red tinge on her cheeks that showed she had been drinking.

Tsunade waved in the direction of the laptop, and Yuri sat down to skim the song titles. She saw a few good songs, and added them to the play list. They were all slow songs, so she added a few 'ok' fast-paced songs to mix up the selection.

"Thanks Tsunade-sama," she mumbled as she walked past the older couple. On her way back to the dance floor, Yuri ran into the man who had been in charge of collecting the King votes, and she just managed to avoid walking into the holder of the Queen's votes.

Smirking, she thought, _Looks like we'll hear the results soon. I'd better go find some place to hide._


	5. Chapter 5

Ah, hell. I just realized I need to give Yuri a last name. So…I'm naming her after one of my fav anime directors, Isao Takahata. Hopes that all right with you…

(Last time:)

"Thanks Tsunade-sama," she mumbled as she walked past the older couple. On her way back to the dance floor, Yuri ran into the man who had been in charge of collecting the King votes, and she just managed to avoid walking into the holder of the Queen's votes.

Smirking, she thought, _Looks like we'll hear the results soon. I'd better go find some place to hide._

Yuri snuck up behind Kiba. "BOO," she whispered. Kiba jumped a foot in the air - at least Hinata wasn't the only one scared by that trick.

"Holy hell, what the fuck was that for?" Kiba rubbed the back of his neck to make up for jumping so high, as if to calm down his nerves.

"THAT was for earlier. You know, when you laughed at me for not being able to dance. And besides…" Yuri breathed into his ear, "I like to make you _jump_."

Kiba was freaked out. This little shit had just scared him, and now she was trying to seduce him? What was the world coming to? He rubbed the back of his head harder, and then knuckled Yuri on the head. "Damn it, stop flirting. It's creeping me out."

Yuri touched her head where Kiba had hit her. "Ouch. You know, hitting a girl…it's almost like kicking a dog in it's ribs." That shut him up, and he even looked a bit sorry. Yuri walked away leaving a guilty looking Kiba behind. _Serves him right…_Yuri mentally giggled, although she knew that would be the last of her revenge.

The next person Yuri found was Gaara. He had been leaning against the wall, but stood up straight when he saw her. Yuri couldn't figure out why he looked so amused, but when he started playing with her hair, she figured it was because that idiot Kiba had messed it up.

"There, that's better," Gaara announced, standing back. "Your hair needed fixing," he explained when Yuri gave him a quizzical look.

Yuri reached up to touch her hair, and smiled at Gaara. "Thanks," she said, and gave him a big hug. Gaara didn't say anything back, but she could tell he was pleased. "Oh, and Gaara…"

"Hn?"

"I just saw the people who were from the voting booths. They were heading over to Tsunade-sama. I think we'll get to hear the results soon." Gaara just nodded, and Yuri skipped over to Rock Lee, Choji, and Shino.

Rock Lee saw Yuri before the others. "Hello, Yuri. You look a bit happy, what's up?"

"I just saw the people from the voting booths, and they were heading over to Tsunade-sama. I think they'll be giving us the results soo--"

Yuri didn't finish her sentence, because the shrill whine of a microphone drowned her out. Tsunade-sama was standing where she had earlier, but this time, she had two envelopes in her hands.

"Alright everyone, it's time to announce the King and Queen. Who should we announce first?" Cries of "King! I wanna know who the King is!" and "Queen, ladies first!" rang out all around the room. Tsunade laughed and said into the mike, "Alright, ladies first. Your new dance Queen is…" Everyone waited as she ripped open the envelope and read the name.

"Yuri Takahata! Come on up, you're the new dance Queen!"

Yuri inwardly seethed. Her legs wouldn't move, and she felt really faint. Way too faint to even be moving - maybe she should go hide? _How did I KNOW this was going to happen?_

"Oi! Yuri, that's YOU! Go, dammit! Go before I pull you up there!" Yuri knew it to be Temari's voice, and she _would_ move. She _would_ move, if she _could_. Before she knew it, Lee, Shino, Temari, Sakura, and even Choji were pushing at Yuri's back. When she took a step forward, her knees knocked together, and almost gave out. Luckily, Gaara was there to catch her.

"Can I escort you?" he whispered, holding one of her arms. Yuri could only nod weakly, she could tell she had a miserable expression on her face. Gaara half escorted, half supported Yuri as she walked over to Tsunade. But when they got closer, he let go, and Yuri stumbled the rest of the way on her own.

When Yuri approached Tsunade, she tried to smile and joked, "You rang?" Tsunade gave her one look, and holding the microphone away from her face, asked, "Are you all right? You look really shaky."

Yuri just smiled another of her weak smiles and said, "Well, I can tell you I'd rather not be here. But, people have been pulling strings all day, what's one more?" Tsunade just nodded, and stuck out her elbow for support. Yuri clutched at it and steadied herself. "You can announce the King now," she said, and Tsunade nodded again, turning back to the audience.

"Alright, and now for the King's name." Grinning evilly, she handed the envelope to Yuri and said, "The Queen shall give it to you."

Yuri took the envelope with shaky hands, and her fear instantly kicked in. "I can't do it," she whispered, trying to hand the envelope back to the 5th Hokage. "You do it, I can't."

Tsunade just grinned another of her wicked smiles and said, "Nope, this is nothing. Even you can handle it."

Yuri looked at the envelope. When she moved it, different colors shone on the white paper, camouflaging and tie-dying it with all of the colors of the rainbow. There was a name in this. Just a name, nothing to be afraid of, really. Sighing, Yuri slid her finger under the envelope flap, ripping it easily as she swept her finger to the other side.

Yuri slipped the piece of paper out and turned it around. Gawking at the name, she read aloud, "Kakashi Hatake."

Apparently they could hear her over at the drink stand, because in the silence, she heard something spill, and then lots of swearing.

Tsunade cheerfully waved to the back of the room. "Come on over, Kakashi-san! Your Queen's waiting for you!"

Yuri wanted to die. It was official, this was the worst day of her life. She'd have never danced with him if she'd known it'd end up like this! Looking miserably out into the crowd, she made out the silver bobbing hair of her sensei as he made his way towards the spotlight.

Once he was standing close enough, Yuri could see that Kakashi's eyes were dull, meaning he must be a bit glum too. That almost seemed to please her - it wasn't that she like her sensei to feel bad, but knowing he didn't appreciate the attention either helped a bit.

The two people who had been working the voting stands now appeared with crowns. _Crowns? WTF?_ This was going terribly. Geez. _One dance did all this_?

Yuri stood still as the lady put the Queen's crown on her head. It was cute, Yuri had to admit. Simple, just her style. Yuri glanced at her sensei once her crown was on - she couldn't quite read his expression, but he didn't look as mopey as he had when he had walked over.

"And now…"Tsunade drawled on, a glimmer in her eye. "The main event!"

Yuri was curious. "Main event? Tsunade-sama, I thought the main event was the naming of the King and Queen?" Tsunade winked, and Yuri got that bad feeling in her stomach again.

"The main event…a Royal Kiss!"

Cries, laughter, shouts, giggles…they all sounded out over the room. Yuri wavered on her feet again, and Kakashi gave her a concerned look. Looking Tsunade straight in the face, he asked her, "Tsunade-sama, is there any way we can get out of this. I mean, Yuri-chan doesn't look too good." _And I'm her __sensei__, this goes waaaay over the familiarity border!_

Tsunade gave Yuri a good look. The tiny girl seemed to have dazed off, and was staring at a space on the back wall. "Nah, she'll be fine. And if she gets too weak to stand…"the Hokage gave a satisfied smirk, "you'll just have to hold her close enough to support her."

_Dammit_, Kakashi thought. He knew the Hokage could get drunk, and did get drunk very often, but really. This was a bit much. It'd be different if it were a student and a student, but a student and a teacher didn't match up well. The silver-haired ninja sighed, deep in regret from accepting Yuri's dance offer.

The older ninja looked out at the crowd. Several eager faces stared back up at him, waiting for the couple to kiss. As Shikamaru would say, 'How troublesome.'

Yuri suddenly broke her daydream. "We should get this over with," she told her sensei, hesitation showing clearly in her eyes. Apparently what she said and what she really felt didn't match up.

Yuri turned to face her sensei, and he did the same to her. Yuri legs shook, but she grit her teeth and closed the distance between the two in a few quick mouse steps. Looking around, Yuri noticed that Tsunade had conveniently vanished. _I'll be sure to give her a piece of my mind_, the girl thought, clenching her fists.

Kakashi pulled down his mask. For some odd reason today, he had only worn one. Like his student said, they should get this done and over with.

Yuri looked up into her sensei's face. Without his mask, he looked quite handsome. _I shouldn't be thinking that!!!_ her brain screamed. Kakashi started to lean down towards Yuri, but seemed to think better of it and stopped.

"You have to come to me, you know," she joked. "I'm not tall enough. I'm just a _little girl_, remember?"

Kakashi didn't seem to think this was very funny, but he kept bending down. Yuri waited for him with her head bent back so that she could see his face as it neared hers. As she evaluated his face, Yuri noticed that Kakashi had his eyes closed, as though he didn't want to have to see what was going to happen. Also, instead of puckering his lips like Naruto didn't whenever he tried to get a kiss from Sakura, his lips were even, like her own.

Again, Kakashi's face hovered over hers, and she smiled when he cracked open his eye. She knew what was going on, his teacher-student sense was going off, and his body wouldn't let him do anything else. She'd take it from here.

Standing on her tiptoes, Yuri pushed her face into her sensei's. (That's an odd way of putting it, but really, it was gentle, not like a real 'push'.) Her lips twitched when they met Kakashi's, but she eventually relaxed into the kiss. Kakashi's hand came up and cupped her face, tilting it up even more.

Apparently the crowd thought that was a wonderful kiss, because the whole room practically shook with the commotion they put up. Shouts were carried outside, through the walls, and catcalls and cheers filled the air, and a few loud wolf whistles were heard too.

When Yuri broke away from Kakashi, she found him to be smiling, and realized her face too held a smile. "That wasn't so bad," she murmured in his ear, as they were still bent and on tiptoes.

Tsunade walked out to congratulate the two, but backed off when she saw the look on Yuri's face. And let me leave this part to your imagination. Imagine a face of pure hatred, and a chakra giving of the signs of murderous intent. Not a good outcome, ne? Although, Yuri really _did_ mean it when she had said it wasn't so bad. All the attention was the worst part.

Yuri and Kakashi went their separate ways for the second time that night, not even commenting on what had just gone on between them. Yuri wanted to hide, because she knew what was coming next, a mob of fan girls, wanting to know what the kiss was like…blah, blah, blah.

As if someone was pulling strings for the good this time, Gaara appeared by Yuri's side. "Come on," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a back exit.


	6. Chapter 6

(Last Time:)

Yuri and Kakashi went their separate ways for the second time that night, not even commenting on what had just gone on between them. Yuri wanted to hide, because she knew what was coming next, a mob of fan girls, wanting to know what the kiss was like…blah, blah, blah.

As if someone was pulling strings for the good this time, Gaara appeared by Yuri's side. "Come on," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a back exit.

Yuri wasn't concerned as to where Gaara was taking her. In fact, she wasn't concerned at all. Something about the red-head's presence calmed her.

The door she and Gaara had left through led to a small garden with a tree in the middle of the yard. Gaara tugged on her hand, and she followed him over to the base of the tree. "Ready?" he asked, holding his student by the waist. (Yes, she's _his_ student too, it'll all be explained if you read 'The Chronicles of Lily', the next piece I'll be working on.)

Yuri nodded, she knew the drill. In Suna, she and Gaara had climbed several trees, but at trees she couldn't climb, Gaara would hold on to her, and he would transport both of them up to the branches. Yuri was a bit nervous, she was wearing a dress this time, and she had never been in a tree without pants or shorts on.

Yuri watched and waited as sand enveloped the two, and gasped when it fell away. Clutching to Gaara even more than usual, she realized just how high up the lowest branch was.

Gaara noticed Yuri's fear and let go of her waist, holding on only to her hand. The red-head sat down at the base of the branch, where it joined the trunk, and rested his back against the rough bark on the wide trunk.

Yuri felt vulnerable standing on the branch without Gaara's support, so she seated herself on the branch and scooted over to Gaara. Gaara opened his legs and Yuri scooted even closer, resting her back against Gaara's chest. With a leg on either side of her, Yuri felt a little safer. But…

"Gaara, could you put your arms around me?"

"Hn." Gaara pulled his arms up from his sides, and crossed them around Yuri's front. Yuri sighed, now there was no way she could fall out of the tree. "Thank you Gaara," she said, snuggling closer to her sensei. For some reason, even though she called him sensei, Yuri could get closer to Gaara than she could Kakashi. Was it the age difference, ever as evident as the _height_ difference?

Gaara held Yuri tightly. He knew her reasons for him holding her like this, but he was still pleased that she had asked him like that. Like she had something other than safety on her mind.

Yuri shifted her head so that it was resting on her friend's shoulder. "Hey Gaara," she said sleepily. "Look at the moon. It's so pretty tonight." Gaara looked at the moon, and he agreed silently, it was a very beautiful moon.

All of a sudden Gaara got an urge to say something corny, like, 'Not as beautiful as you,' or, 'It couldn't possibly shine as bright as you'. He kept his mouth shut, though.

"Hey Gaara."

"Hm?"

"I love this. I love it when you sneak me out of my apartment. I love it when we sit together in the trees. I love it when we watch the moon, or go walking in the garden. Gaara…_I love you._"

Gaara couldn't say anything. Leave it to Yuri to say something that could drive a man crazy, just to think of an answer.

"Hey Yuri."

"Yes, Gaara?"

"I love it too. All of it. Every single bit of it. And…I love you too."

Gaara could feel something wet drip onto his arm. Leaning forward, he looked into Yuri's face and saw that she was crying. "Yuri, please don't cry. Please."

Yuri twisted so that she was looking at Gaara. "Gaara, that's the best thing anyone's ever said to me. You can't expect me not to cry."

Gaara was touched. He had never felt _this_ way before. He had heard Temari describe it before, and he had to give her accuracy an A+ when it came to describing the feeling. 'Like you could just burst apart at the seams, you were so full of happiness'.

"Gaara, let's live happily ever after, ok?"

_Damn, why'd she have to say that? It's just another of those lines girls pull that require an answer, and guys can't seem to answer it._

Never-the-less, Gaara's lips managed to answer for him. "Yeah, let's."

"What do we have to do? To live a happy life together, I mean."

Gaara hugged the girl tighter, and she sighed contently. "All you have to do…" Gaara started. "Is stay by me. Stay beside me, and I'll take care of everything else, ok?"

Yuri smiled, and reached up a hand to trace a finger down the side of Gaara's face. "Gaara, are you crying?"

Was he? Gaara reached up and felt the cheek Yuri had touched. Sure enough, it was wet. "Ha. As you said, that the best thing anyone's ever said to me. You can't expect me not to cry."

Gaara and Yuri spent the rest of the dance out in that tree, watching the moon as it arched into the sky, and they watched as the partiers exited the party some time around midnight. Yuri fell asleep soon after Gaara saw the Hokage leave, so he gathered the tiny girl in his arms and jumped out of the tree, landing with a small thump.

Yuri woke up with a start. Why was she in the apartment she and Sakura shared? Had the dance ended yet? And whatever happened to Gaara?

Suddenly Yuri remembered watching the crowd leave through the front doors late last night. She remembered Gaara point out the 5th Hokage and Jiraiya-sama, and then she remembered being held by Gaara as he walked down her street. _So, Gaara took me home? _

Yuri opened her door and came face-to-face with Sakura. Her friend was wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a sweatshirt with the Hidden Village leaf symbol on it, and Yuri was suddenly compelled to look at what she _herself_ was wearing.

Yikes! She hadn't changed out of her dress, so it was all wrinkled, and there was a bit of dirt from the tree bark on the bottom.

Sakura noticed Yuri looking at her dress and said, "Hey, sorry I didn't wake you up so you could change. Gaara came in with you last night, and asked to just let you sleep."

"Hm? Oh, that's right. I fell asleep in the tree."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "What were you doing in a _tree_?"

Yuri looked up at Sakura with one of her I'll-tell-you-later looks. Reaching back to tug at the knot holding up her dress, Yuri asked, "Hey Sakura-chan, can I borrow your red leggings?"

Sakura didn't like the change in subject, but she nodded and went to find the red leggings Yuri had requested. When she went back to Yuri's room, she knocked and looked inside. Yuri had clothes thrown on the bed, and a small backpack was lying half-full on the floor.

"Whatcha doing?" Sakura asked, dodging a flying article of clothing.

"I'm going to find Gaara."

"Why do you need to take a backpack?"

"I'm leaving for a few months."

"What? Why so sudden?"

That made Yuri stop. Turning to Sakura, she told her, "Gaara and I made a promise. I can't break that the very day after we make it."

Sakura was still confused, but she dropped the leggings on the bed and left the room. "Whatever, I'll be downstairs, just tell me when you're leaving."

Sakura could hear Yuri coming down the stairs. She looked up to see the little girl dressed in the red leggings, a black miniskirt, a red net undershirt and a black T-shirt with a skull on the left breast. "I'm leaving," she called, taking the shortcut through the kitchen to the backdoor. Sakura could hear the boots as they clacked on the linoleum tile, and the door as it closed on her way out.

Sigh. "Guess that's that. Kakashi-sense will be sad to hear she left." Then Sakura went back to reading her book.

Yuri hurried; she hoped she could make it in time. _I made a promise, I can't break it. I made a promise, I can't break it._ "Gaara," she growled, arriving at the road to the large doors that acted as the entrance and exit to the village. Squinting, she could just make out two figures on their way to the gate. She'd never make it before the doors closed, or would she?

"Gaara! Slow your ass down!" Yuri shouted at the top of her lungs. She took off again, her tiny backpack thumping against her back as she ran at high speed towards the gate.

Yuri watched helplessly as the gates slowly swung open, and she imagined Gaara and Temari walking through the gates, leaving her behind. "GAARA!!!" She screamed, cracking her voice.

Yuri finally reached the gate, and sighed in relief. Gaara had heard her, and stood in the gate's way of closing. "Yuri!" he said, surprised to see his tiny student.

"Damnit Gaara, you promised!" The ninja was bent over, hands on her knees, panting to catch the breathe that had escaped during her long run. "Gaara, you promised…as long as I was always beside you…you'd take care of everything else. Damnit, Gaara…" Yuri stood up and gave Gaara a teary-eyed look that made him take a few steps towards her. "Gaara, how am I supposed to always stay by your side if you drop me on my bed and leave off on your own? How are you supposed to take care of everything if you're miles away?" Gaara took another few steps towards the girl, eyes wide.

Temari was watching the interesting scene before her with open eyes. She now understood why the tiny ninja had said she had most enjoyed Gaara's dance last night-it was because she was in love with her little brother! And, even though she couldn't see his expression, Temari knew it was one of sorrow, because hopefully Gaara had realized his mistake. _Ahh, this is why little boys need their big sisters_, she thought wistfully, _though it looks like my little brother is starting to grow up…_

Yuri ran at Gaara and gave him a huge hug; Gaara wrapped his arms around her. He still couldn't believe how right she had been. It made him shudder to think how she might have felt if he had left, leaving her, and that promise, behind. Although he had said those words last night and they had struck chords within both of them, he had been so willing to leave back for Suna for the next morning, thinking about how much he would miss his student, friend, and important person.

"Yuri, I…I'm so sorry. You…you'll come back to Suna with us, won't you?"

Yuri laughed, wiping tears away from her blue eyes. "Baka! Nothing could stop me!"

So Temari, Gaara, and Yuri walked through the gates, hand in hand, as they made they're way back to Suna, where Kankuro was waiting with big news…

HAHA…the end. Actually, I'm not really sure what Kankuro's big news was, but it gave the story a mysterious ending, so I'm keeping it! Yah! Let's see…counts chapters…that's 6 chapters in 2 days! WHOOT! All. Time. RECORD! ( haha, unless you count the time it took me to get around to editing it. :P) Ok, so I'm spazzing, but I'll be sure to calm down and get to work on 'The Chronicles of Lily', which is basically the whole story of how Yuri came to meet everyone, and eventually live in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. (Like I said in chap 1, she's really from the Land of Waves). ( Yup, that story's on hiatus too…well, you can read the first part, but I don't plan on coming out with the other parts any time soon…)


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